With Aussie Millions in the books, players in the region have moved on to the Australian Poker Open. The Australian Poker Open is a new live poker series devised by Poker Central. The event is an expansion of the US Poker Open and British Poker Open. Played at the Star Gold Coast in Queensland, players such as recent Aussie Millions winner Michael Addamo are taking their shot in the series. Kicking off on Sunday, the series has crowned four winners thus far.
Mike Watson and Andras Nemeth have battled neck and neck for the APO Championship lead, each winning one event and final tabling another. Other winners include Timothy Adams and Farid Jattin.
Mike Watson Wins Australian Poker Open Opener
Mike Watson took down the opening event of the Australian Poker Open, a $10,000 NL Hold’em Event. He survived a packed final table that included Elio Fox, Ben Lamb, Orpen Kisacikoglu and Aussies Ben Shannon and Michael O’Grady.
O’Grady and Watson battled it out heads-up for the title with Watson coming back to win the title. For the win, Watson earned $177,000 and became the early frontrunner for the APO Championship title.
Mike @SirWatts Watson makes Australian Poker Open history! Wins Event #1 and takes the top spot on the #APO
leaderboard. https://t.co/8v2KFttbAD — Poker Central (@PokerCentral) January 26, 2020
Andras Nemeth Wins $10k PLO
Andras Nemeth won the second event of the APO, a $10k PL Omaha Event. This final table also included Event #1 winner Mike Watson. Other making the final were Joni Jouhkimainen and Erik Seidel.
The lone Aussie at the final table was Najeem Ajez. He managed to make it heads-up with Andras Nemeth and had a sizable chip lead. However, Ajez was never able to put away Nemeth and over time, Nemeth managed to storm back for the eventual win.
2⃣ events, 2⃣ cashes, and an Event 2⃣ win has Andras Nemeth in #APO
Championship contention. https://t.co/e4iKkaPu99 — Poker Central (@PokerCentral) January 27, 2020
Andras Nemeth won $146,200 for taking down the event along with 300 APO Championship points. However, Mike Watson placed third and extended his championship lead with an additional 150 points.
Timothy Adams Wins $25k NL Hold’em
Timothy Adams won Event #3 on Tuesday, a $25,000 NL Hold’em Event. The final table was stacked with Steve O’Dwyer, Stephen Chidwick, and Aussie Andy Lee. Orpen Kisacikoglu and Chine Rheem both made their second final table of the series in this event.
Eventually, it was Timothy Adams against Stephen Chidwick for the title. It was a short heads-up battle with Adams taking down the title with pocket sevens against the A-5 of Chidwick. Adams earned $416,500 and 300 APO Championship points for the victory.
’s @Tim0theeAdams beat Stephen Chidwick and a stacked $25K NLH final table to move into #APO contention. https://t.co/YgvXl2QU2U — Poker Central (@PokerCentral) January 28, 2020
Farid Jattin Takes Down $25,000 PLO
The $25,000 PLO Event played out on Wednesday with Farrid Jattin taking down the title. The lightly attended event only paid the final five players. Alex Foxen earned his first cash of the series, finishing in 5th.
Andras Nemeth made his third final table of the series in this event. He finished sixth in Event #1 and took down Event #2. This time around, Nemeth finished in fourth. The $72,500 in prize money was incidental to the 120 APO Championship points earned. Those points helped to move Nemeth into the overall lead in the race for the APO Championship.
George Wolff finished in third, setting up heads-up play between Joni Jouhkimainen and Farid Jattin. However, Jattin had a massive chip lead and quickly dispatched Jouhkimainen for his first APO title. For his victory, Jattin Earned $290k and 300 APO Championship points.
They don't call him "The Punisher" for nothing!
's Farid Jattin goes wire-to-wire to claim the $25K PLO title. https://t.co/j4lvVmqlX2 #APO pic.twitter.com/I8hXypmkZY — PokerGO (@PokerGO) January 29, 2020
Three Events Remain in Australian Poker Open
Just three events remain in the Australian Poker Open and they will play out by Saturday. The ACMA can’t block live casinos, so expect the events to be relatively well attended. The last $25k NL Hold’em is underway and will play out on Thursday. A $50k NL Hold’em Event is scheduled for Thursday while the $100,000 NL Hold’em Main Event will play out on Friday and Saturday.
The player with the most points at end of the Main Event will be crowned the inaugural Australian Poker Open Champion. In addition to a championship trophy, they will receive a prize of $50,000. Andras Nemeth holds a slim lead over Mike Watson. However, with players like high rolling superstar Kahle Burns expected to be in town this weekend, anything can happen between now and Saturday.